Cool Product - JosephJoseph Double Dish

Like many Professional Organizers who live near a Container Store, I like to take time here and there to walk the aisles and check out what's on the shelves. I'm always looking for cool, new products and boy, did I find one... I thought this one was so unique, I had to own it.

It's called the Double Dish by a company called JosephJoseph.

Besides being in awe of the product, I thought the company name was fun, too. Turns out that JosephJoseph was started by twin brothers, Richard and Antony Joseph. They melded their experience in product design and business to form a company that designs stylish kitchen and cookware accessories (their mother is so proud..).

The 'short-and-sweet' function of this item is to  'Serve snacks, hide waste.'

But wait, there's more...
- Serve snacks in small dish, hide waste in collection dish
- Alternatively, use as two separate serving dishes
- Perfect for shelled nuts, olives and edamame beans
- Dishwasher safe

I bought it. Couldn't wait to use it. Here's how it works...

Put it on a flat surface. Fill the white bowl with whatever food needs to be shelled or have pits removed. I used pistachio nuts...

Eat a nut (or an olive or edamame pod) and place the shell/pit/pod through one of the open green areas of the Double Dish. When the bowl is finished, remove it to reveal what we usually want to conceal. Take it to your trash can/compost bin and dispose of it.

Put the white dish back on top of the green dish, fill with food, and repeat.

Organized eating!

Gone are the days of putting a smaller bowl with a shell/pit/pod next to the bigger bowl and hoping people realize it's purpose.

Summer is almost upon us--wouldn't this make a great conversation piece at your next BBQ?

Organization to the Rescue--Literally!

You never know where you'll find extraordinary examples of organization...

Yesterday, my family and I attended an event sponsored by the Junior League of Bergen County, NJ called Touch-a-Truck. It's a little kids' paradise--a parking lot filled with a variety of vehicles. There are garbage trucks, ambulances, dump trucks, diggers--you get the idea. Kids are allowed to sit in the vehicles, honk the horns, ask questions and Mom and Dad get a few photo opps, too. It's always a fun time--even in yesterday's rain.

My three year old loves garbage trucks--he was in awe of their size up close. What was I in awe of? A vehicle that had what looked like 'pull-out' drawers!

Mystified, I walked over to the truck and struck up a conversation with one of their Riding Members. The vehicle was from Rescue Squad 23 of Ramsey, NJ. I learned that the truck and the people who work on it help to rescue people trapped in accidents and structural collapses as well as in confined spaces, water and ice rescues.

Fascinating!

But what I found to be most fascinating was the truck's organization. This truck has PULL-OUT DRAWERS!

These rescue trucks carry equipment to assist with dangerous scenarios. Not only do the trucks have to be loaded with the correct gear, the rescue squad must be able to find the tools they need within seconds. I was told that these pull-out drawers utilize up the extra space the truck has in the center. Brilliant! Squad members ride in the front cab and all of their supplies are in the back.

It just goes to show--you never know where you'll find organizing inspiration!

My Favorite Organizing Pins on Pinterest

If you spend a good amount of your time surfing the web, I'm sure you've heard of Pinterest. If not, run--don't walk to the site that is taking social media by storm.

According to their website, "Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing the things you love."

As a user, I would say that, "Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing images of inspiration."

A little over a year ago, I joined Pinterest--read all about it here: Organized Artistry is on Pinterest!. I've been having a great time with it.

On Pinterest, you create and categorize 'pin boards' according to your interests. After you create your themed-boards, you load your own visuals or 're-pin' visuals posted by others to your boards. I created boards for my organizing business and some that have to do with the book I'm writing for brides.  I thought that would be my only use for Pinterest, but it has much more to offer...

- When the time comes to make some major changes in my home, I'll not only be flipping through decorating magazines, I'll also be looking for decorating inspiration on Pinterest.

- I have found recipes to cook for my son who has multiple food allergies.

- There are tons of posts on clothing, makeup and health that I have learned from.

It is very easy to get sucked into the visual wonderland of Pinterest for HOURS at a time. There's so much to see and learn!

Besides other categories, there must be thousands of 'Organizing' pins on Pinterest. So many great ideas to learn from and implement in your life!

Since time is precious, I would like to offer you some of my favorite organizing pins on Pinterest. Some I created myself and some I re-pinned from other boards.

Disclaimer: Although I love Pinterest, I think that there are many visuals on the site (especially the 'Organizing' visuals) that promote 'perfection.' Items in the photos are neatly lined up, labeled and look as if they are untouched by humans. Being organized is not about being perfect. It's about being able to find what you need when you need it--plain and simple. I try to not promote or perpetuate the idea of perfection in my boards/pins, with my clients and in my own home.

I've seen some creative and mega-cool organizing ideas on Pinterest. Here are a few I think you will enjoy, appreciate and find inspiring...

From my 'Kitchen Organizing' Board

This pin is from my blog post, Top Ten Helper Shelf 'Hot-Spots' for Your Home. At last count, I have approximately 15 helper shelves in my home with most of them being in the kitchen.

Thought this was a creative idea. Hang cork board squares on the inside of a cabinet to manage and also hide papers such as invitations, receipts and shopping lists.

I dream of this in my kitchen. PULL OUT DRAWERS! LOTS of them! Never lose food in the back of your cabinet again. 

Thought this was a very organized way to grate and store cheese. Also perfect for grating cheese in advance. Store bagged cheese in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

From my 'Get Ready for Spring Cleaning' Board

Spring Cleaning or all-year-round cleaning--this is my favorite cleaning product. With two little boys in the house, I use the Magic Eraser A LOT! Most of its use is in my kitchen with white appliances. It 'erases' dirt--yes, magically and is the only thing I have found that can cut through the greasy, sticky spots on my stove top.

Though this idea was so smart. At the end of the winter, store your boots with cut up pool noodles inside of them. I bought pool noodles at the end of the season last year in Target for less than a dollar. That's a very inexpensive way to retain the shape of your boots until next winter. 

As soon as I saw this 'pin' I knew I had to add it to my Get Ready for Spring Cleaning board. I work with a lot of clients in their closets and have seen many of these commandments broken. My personal favorites are #2 and #3.

From my 'My Favorite Organizing Products' Board

You won't find this organizing product at The Container Store. It's a productivity app called Evernote.  From their website: "Evernote helps you remember, act upon (and share) ideas, projects and experiences across all the computers, phones and tablets you use." Every time I get an idea or wish to record information about some aspect of my business or personal life, I store it in Evernote for future reference. My desk would have a zillion post-its strewn across it without Evernote.

I know that many people love and swear by 'huggable hangers.' I'll be honest with you--they are not my favorite hanger. I use and recommend crystal hangers. Although they take up more space in a closet, they work well to prevent those 'shoulder bumpies' that can ruin a top very easily.

This is my Brother P-Touch label maker. I'll admit--I love it...maybe even more than the Magic Eraser. It has been quite a workhorse--creating labels for clients and my personal usage for the past ten years. Labels just make things look more organized--don't you think?

This is only a partial list of my Pinterest boards and pins. To see all of my boards and everything I've 'pinned', head on over to Organized Artistry on Pinterest.

Did any 'pin' gave you organzing inspiration?